“Gap (Inc.) provides an impressive amount of information publicly… but it doesn’t seem to be updated regularly.”

FASHIONREVOLUTION.ORG

LAST UPDATED: FEBRUARY 12 2016

DATA

Banana Republic is owned by Gap Inc., which also owns Gap, Old Navy, Intermix and Athleta. The information provided here is largely about the parent company, Gap Inc., with specific information about Banana Republic when available.

THE PROS:

One Stitch Closer is a Gap Inc. program that aims to share the stories, ideas, accomplishments, and challenges of women and other change agents focused on positive impact. P.A.C.E. (Personal Advancement & Career Enhancement) is a central part of the initiative and provides the women who make Gap Inc.’s clothes with life skills, education, and technical training. The brand reports that more than 30,000 women have participated in the program so far.

In 2015, Gap Inc. reports that women made up more than 70% of its senior leadership.

THE CONS:

In 2014, 2.8% of Gap Inc.’s factories did not comply with all laws or international standards for child or under age labor. 25.9% did not provide 1 day off in 7. And 10.6% did not prohibit verbal or psychological abuse or coercion.

In December 2010, a fire broke out at the Hameem Group’s That’s It Sportswear factory in Dhaka, Bangladesh, taking the lives of 29 people and injuring more than 100 others. The factory was a supplier to Gap Inc. and several other major apparel brands and retailers.

In 2013, Greenpeace International reported on big brands including Gap exposed in India toxic water scandal. This came to light after a wide range of hazardous substances were identified in the water samples taken from the PT Gistex facility’s discharge outfalls. The chemicals identified were not only dangerously toxic, but also have hormone-disrupting and highly persistent properties. This discovery among many others has jumpstarted Greenpeace’s Detox campaign which demands fashion brands to commit to zero discharge of all hazardous chemicals by 2020 along with working with their suppliers around the world to disclose all releases of hazardous chemicals from their facilities to communities at the site of the water pollution.

/As of January 31, 2015, Banana Republic had 665 stores and also retails online.

/Gap Inc. reports that its vendors have factories in about 40 countries. However, the brand does not publicly disclose a list of the countries in which its suppliers are located or the supplier names and addresses.

/In fiscal year 2014 approximately 98% of purchases, by dollar value, were from factories outside of the United States. Of those, 27% were from factories in China.

One Stitch Closer is a Gap Inc. program that aims to share the stories, ideas, accomplishments, and challenges of women and other change agents focused on positive impact. P.A.C.E. (Personal Advancement & Career Enhancement) is a central part of the initiative and provides the women who make Gap Inc.’s clothes with life skills, education, and technical training. The brand reports that more than 30,000 women have participated in the program so far.

/Gap Inc. reports that it documented more red-rated factories in 2013-2014 than in 2011-2012 (red is the brand’s lowest rating and signals that immediate action is required at a factory to address one or more serious issues). Gap Inc. states that it successfully resolved 96 percent of critical issues and 81 percent of other open issues at all low performing factories in this category.

/In 2014, 2.8% of Gap Inc.’s factories did not comply with all laws or international standards for child or under age labor.

/In 2014, 25.9% of Gap Inc.’s factories did not provide 1 day off in 7. This number has steadily increased since 2011.

/In 2014, 10.6% of Gap Inc.’s factories did not prohibit verbal or psychological abuse or coercion.

/In December 2010, a fire broke out at the Hameem Group’s That’s It Sportswear factory in Dhaka, Bangladesh, taking the lives of 29 people and injuring more than 100 others. The factory was a supplier to Gap Inc. and several other major apparel brands and retailers.

/In 2011 and 2012, a series of strikes occurred in Cambodia’s garment industry, mainly driven by workers demanding increases in wages and benefits. Gap Inc. sourced from several of the factories affected by these strikes.

/ To address forced labour in India that occurs through the Sumangali Scheme, Gap Inc, reports that it took a leadership role in establishing an industry working group through the Ethical Trading Initiative. The brand states that it helped bring together international brands and retailers, the local and national government, manufacturers and mills, non-governmental organizations, and trade unions to discuss the issue and identify a locally-driven way forward.

/In 2014, Ecouterre reported Gap’s partnership with an equity firm to improve factory conditions in Asia. In 2013, Gap was named the worst corporation of 2013 by the Public Eye Awards because of its “steadfast refusal to contribute to effective reforms in the textile industry”. Since this, Gap has announced its partnership with Tau Investment Management which is a asset management firm that aspires to use capitalist solutions to address “capitalism’s worst failures” particularly in the global garment industry. Gap said that collaborating with Tau will “further accelerate positive change” within its supply chain.

/In 2014, Huffington Post reported on Gap’s recent decision to start manufacturing in Myanmar where workers are notoriously horribly mistreated. The corporation will be the first American apparel maker to have clothes made in the country since the U.S. lifted sanctions two years ago. This decision has human rights advocates very concerned and believe Gap’s intention is to get their clothes produced as cheaply as possible, not matter the human cost.

/In 2013, the Institute for Global Labour and Human Rights reported on how Gap and Old Navy are cheating the poorest workers in the world specifically in Bangladesh. The report argues that Gap and Old Navy appear to be oblivious to the human rights violations that are happening at the Next Collections Limited factory located in Bangladesh where nearly 70 percent of the companies garments are manufactured. The report argues that the company’s negligence in not deploying “corporate monitors” to audit working conditions, hours and wages nor releasing audit reports to the public is unlawful and allows for these violations to occur seemingly unnoticed. It also goes on to accuse Gap of being in violation of its own code of conduct due to these abuses that have been going on for more than two and a half years. Some of the violations include: workers earning just 20 to 24 cents per hour, physical punishment and illegal firings, the illegal termination of pregnant women and denial of their legal paid maternity leave among many others.

/Gap Inc. began working with a targeted group of seven suppliers (representing approximately 50 facilities) in India to benchmark their water use in 2014. The brand created an online data dashboard that all of its suppliers can access to see how their environmental performance compares to competitors and peers. The dashboard breaks down their greenhouse gas emissions, energy use and water consumption by country and factory, identifying opportunities for improvements.

/In 2013, Ecouterre reported that Gap pledges to eliminate toxic chemicals but Greenpeace isn’t happy. The problem seems to lie with the coalition Gap joined that includes many other major apparel and footwear brands referred to as the Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals Programme (ZDHC) which says it is committed to leading the fashion industry toward the elimination of all hazardous substances by 2020. However, Greenpeace criticized the coalition for delivering “more promises and pilots, rather than concrete actions to create toxic-free fashion.”

/ In 2013, Greenpeace International reported on big brands including Gap exposed in India toxic water scandal. This came to light after a wide range of hazardous substances were identified in the water samples taken from the PT Gistex facility’s discharge outfalls. The chemicals identified were not only dangerously toxic, but also have hormone-disrupting and highly persistent properties. This discovery among many others has jumpstarted Greenpeace’s Detox campaign which demands fashion brands to commit to zero discharge of all hazardous chemicals by 2020 along with working with their suppliers around the world to disclose all releases of hazardous chemicals from their facilities to communities at the site of the water pollution.

/In 2016, Banana Republic reports that its ONE+ALL initiative will be targeting Women’s Advancement and Youth Development causes.

/ By 2020, Gap Inc. aims to improve the lives of one million women by expanding its P.A.C.E. program to a suite of learning programs that provides multiple entry points for addressing the needs of adolescent girls and women leaders. P.A.C.E. operates in Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Myanmar, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Vietnam.

/Gap Inc. states that 100% of its strategic suppliers of branded apparel will have a sustainability rating of green or yellow by 2020. Strategic suppliers accounted for 84 percent of the brand’s sourcing costs for branded apparel in 2015.

/By 2018, Gap Inc. aim to have partnered with Verité and its strategic suppliers to measure workers’ sense of value and engagement at work, and launch projects aimed at improving 20,000 workers’ engagement. The brand states that it will publicly report on findings and impact, and share best practices with all Gap Inc. suppliers.

/Gap Inc has adopted the ILO Better Work’s Workplace Cooperation Program, which aims to provide workers and management with the skills needed to jointly resolve workplace issues and engage in respectful collaboration. In 2015, the brand provided ILO Better Work with a grant to scale this program, and the brand reports that it will use this curriculum as the basis for an updated capability building program.

Closing of 90 percent of critical issues and 50 percent of other open issues at 181 low-performing red factories

Development of complimentary 3-year plans for both teams for 2015-2017

/ONE+ALL was launched in 2010 to encourage employees to support their local communities through volunteering. Since 2009, Banana Republic reports that its teams have devoted over 400,000 hours of volunteer service to support a wide range of community partners. The initiative has supported Dress for Success, The Boys and Girls Clubs of America in the US, Green Bird in Japan, Centrepoint in Europe and many other non-profit organizations. In 2016, ONE+ALL will be targeting Women’s Advancement and Youth Development causes.

/In 2014, Huffington Post reported on how Gap has instituted equal pay for men and women. Exponential Talent which is a consulting firm that specializes in workforce diversity analyzed a dataset of pay information for Gap’s nearly 130,000 employees and found that there is “no significant gender wage difference between women and men”. This could have a lot do with the fact that one of Gap’s two founders, Doris Fisher, is a woman and 73 percent of its employees are women, including 69 percent of store managers. According to a study conducted by McKinsey & Company, Gap also has an unusually high number of women in top management positions. The article did address though how there is no data on the women working in the many factories that make Gap’s clothes; most factories being located in Bangladesh where there are some of the poorest laborers in the world.

/By 2018, Gap Inc. aim to have partnered with Verité and its strategic suppliers to measure workers’ sense of value and engagement at work, and launch projects aimed at improving 20,000 workers’ engagement. The brand states that it will publicly report on findings and impact, and share best practices with all Gap Inc. suppliers.

/One Stitch Closer is a Gap Inc. program that aims to share the stories, ideas, accomplishments, and challenges of women and other change agents focused on positive impact. P.A.C.E. (Personal Advancement & Career Enhancement) is a central part of the initiative and provides the women who make Gap Inc.’s clothes with life skills, education, and technical training. The brand reports that more than 30,000 women have participated in the program so far. By 2020, Gap Inc. aims to improve the lives of one million women in its supply chain and other manufacturing and community settings through the Gap Inc. P.A.C.E. program. P.A.C.E. operates in Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Myanmar, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Vietnam.

/Gap Inc. began working with a targeted group of seven suppliers (representing approximately 50 facilities) in India to benchmark their water use in 2014. The brand created an online data dashboard that all of its suppliers can access to see how their environmental performance compares to competitors and peers. The dashboard breaks down their greenhouse gas emissions, energy use and water consumption by country and factory, identifying opportunities for improvements.

/In 2011, Ecouterre reported that Target, Gap, Walmart, H&M, Patagonia launched the Sustainable Apparel Coalition. These brands along with non-governmental organizations, academic experts and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency banded together to reduce the social and environmental impacts of apparel and footwear products sold worldwide.

/In 2014, Huffington Post reported on how Gap has instituted equal pay for men and women. Exponential Talent which is a consulting firm that specializes in workforce diversity analyzed a dataset of pay information for Gap’s nearly 130,000 employees and found that there is “no significant gender wage difference between women and men”. This could have a lot do with the fact that one of Gap’s two founders, Doris Fisher, is a woman and 73 percent of its employees are women, including 69 percent of store managers. According to a study conducted by McKinsey & Company, Gap also has an unusually high number of women in top management positions. The article did address though how there is no data on the women working in the many factories that make Gap’s clothes; most factories being located in Bangladesh where there are some of the poorest laborers in the world.

VOICES

FASHION REVOLUTION | WHITE PAPER : IT’S TIME FOR A FASHION REVOLUTION

Gap provides an impressive amount of information publicly about their supply chain auditing results, including the methodology, factory ratings comparisons, noncompliances by region and carbon reporting results but it doesn’t seem to be updated regularly. – 12/2015

RHEANA MURRAY | RACKED

In other words, Gap hopes you buy enough discounted T-shirts to make price slashing worth it, which you just might since discounts act as “positive reinforcement” for shoppers. As psychologist Elizabeth Lombardo explains, “It becomes the norm, you start to expect it. When people see sales, they think they’re getting something for free, like they’ll lose money by not buying.” – 4/22/2015

CLEAN CLOTHES CAMPAIGN | 2014 PUBLIC EYE AWARD OF SHAME

Liana Foxvog from International Labor Rights Forum (ILRF), who along with SumOfUs und United Students Against Sweatshops (USAS) nominated GAP, says: “Gap deserves this award. The company portrays a public image of being a leader in responsibility while actively undermining real corporate responsibility. Instead of joining the Accord, GAP created together with Walmart the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety. Despite sounding promising, this initiative is not legally binding and includes no union involvement, making it hardly more than a PR stunt to dodge safety responsibility.” – 1/23/2014

“Frankly, I’m not satisfied with where the apparel industry, including Gap Inc., is today on a variety of social and environmental issues. Many times, creating change feels frustratingly slow. Yet change is more urgent now than ever, for all of us. We face global challenges that require collective action.”

“I fully expect that we will be judged by our actions, but the heart of our story lies in our commitment. We’re not perfect, but what I can say without hesitation is that we are committed to this work. We’re striking up new partnerships, investing in new strategies and testing new ideas. We believe we have a real opportunity to make a difference in people’s lives through our business.”

“As one of the world’s largest apparel retailers, we recognize that our size brings added responsibility, and it also presents greater opportunity to make a difference. While each of the changes we are making would not be enough on its own, the sum of our efforts – across the scale of our business operations – holds the potential to create real change.”